Camphill Café announces "Pay As You Wish" Thursdays

Camphill Village Kimberton Hills’ Camphill Café announces a new program to encourage community and generosity while sharing delicious and nutritious food.

The Camphill Café will introduce Pay As You Wish Thursdays, beginning on July 11.  Patrons are encouraged to come and share a meal at the Café, and pay for the meal with any amount they want. Meals will cost whatever you want to pay, starting at zero.

“The Café is very unique compared to other restaurants and features collaborative work by village residents and volunteers,” says Hilla Haut, café manager. “We are surrounded by the beauty of the land around us and our eco-friendly designed building. By offering one day a week that visitors can come for a delicious, nutritious lunch where customers pay as they can, we are taking another step forward to welcome the larger community.

The potential benefit of this program is twofold: Above-the-cost proceeds go to cover meals for customers who cannot pay the full amount and to help support the residents of Camphill Kimberton; and for those in need, the healthy meal provides great nutrition at whatever price they can afford.

Haut’s decision was inspired by Karma Kitchen, a restaurant that opened in Berkeley in 2007, by several volunteers inspired to seed the value of a “gift economy.”  There are no prices for the meals, you give a donation of what you are able to help pay for others’ meals. Their motto is: Your meal is paid for by someone before you, and now it’s your chance to pay it forward.

Haut takes inspiration from Nipun Mehta, who with others imagined the concept of Karma Kitchen, and has said, “The more I smile, the more I do smile. The more I love, the more love I have to give. So, when you give externally, you receive internally. ... If you stay in touch with your inner truth, you will come alive with joy, purpose, and gratitude. You will tap into the law of abundance.  May you discover that to be truly selfish, you must be generous.  In giving, may you fully experience what it means to receive.”

The Camphill Café, in the heart of Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, serves seasonal foods grown both biodynamically and organically in Camphill Kimberton’s CSA gardens. The Café was recently renovated and features geothermal heating and air conditioning, natural solar tube lighting and outdoor seating. The café is open Wednesdays – Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Camphill Kimberton and the Camphill Café are located at 1601 Pughtown Road, Kimberton, PA 19442.